Slit-ball game



May 21 1935- T. JIBERNING ET AL SLIT BALL GAME Filed Oct. 26, 1934 INVENTOBJ "4 M? fa BY MAM TMATTORNEY has come to rest on Sim-BALL GAME Theodore-- J Berning; Daytoni and Melvin-P; Hoover, near Dayton; Ohio Application LOctober as, 1934, serial N0. (750,116

' a claims? (01. 27-3-95)- This invention relatesto-new anduseful.im-. I

provernents in slit-ball games; it isthe principal object of our; invention to provide for the entertainment of; children, and adults, athrilling. indoor game which: calls-for alertness: and skill on the part; of. the players. It. contemplates the use of slit. balls that. are

thrown bya player, under a row. of. transversely, mounted wires, against a. concave back. member,

from .which .the balls. rebound upon those wires;

If," on the rebound a ballfalls upon awire, with,

its slit portion straddling 'thelatter, the player wilLget a. fslit, which-entitles him to a number of points correSpondingtm-the number appearing opposite that wire on one side of the board.

Another object of our invention is the provision of means for rotating a wire after the slit portion of a ball has come to rest upon it, to dislodge the ball therefrom.

In the accompanying drawing,illustrating our invention, Figure l is a perspective view of the rectangular box-like board, showing a ball that one wire with the slit portion straddlingthe same, and another ball which has alighted upon a pair of wires, but not in a position to score because its slit portion faces upwardly. Figure 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken through the board, showing the two balls in the same positionsthey occupied in Fig-' ure 1. Figure 3 is a side view of our game board, showing the means for rotating the wires to dislodge the balls therefrom. ,And Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the slit balls.

Referring to the accompanying drawing for a detailed description of our invention, the numeral l designates a game board of rectangular, box-like form having a and 4. For the purpose of raising the rear portion of the board slightlyabove the level of the front portion, we have secured to the rear part of the base 2 an elevating member 5.

The rear ends of the side members 3 and 4 are preferably of semi-circular shape below shoulder portions 6 for attachment thereto of a concave metal back member I. The latter has an upper vertical edge portion that rests against the shoulders 6-6, and a lower vertical edge portion which lies in a parallel vertical plane for attachment between the base member and the elevating member 5. i

The front portions of the side members 3 and 4 are uniformly cut away, as shown in Figure 1, to permit full freedom of the arm in throwing or projecting a slit ball 8 toward the rebound or back member I.

base 2 and side walls 3 slit-balls to each player,

Rotatably mounted in holes formed; in the; upper edgeportion of the side memberssfi and jg is--a series ',ofr members, preferably wires 9;who se;. middle portions are fiattenedyand whoseendst are oiiset on-onesidel The horizontal planedn, which these. wires are placed inclinesdownwardly, in a gradual: mannenfrom, front, to rear, The. innermost-- wire 9: is a; su fiicient. distance; above, the base Z and away-from,thereboundmembenfl, to permit the'free travel of a ball ,arpund:it; 0. '10s; that. when a ball is g projected under, the, wires; 9 againstthe rebound member, itwill lbedirectemby, the latter upwardly; and outwardly. above, them If in descendingthe balLcomesto, rest withgits slit,

portion-straddling one of, the wires,.as isthe, 5 with one of the balls shown in Figure 1, the number opposite the wire upon which the ball has come to rest will add that many points to the score of the player who has thrown that ball. If, on the other hand, the ball alights upon a pair of wires, as the other ball has done in Figure 1, the player will not score. It is only when one gets a slit that one is entitled to addto ones score the number of points represented by the number appearing on the side of the board opposite the wire upon which the ball has come to rest.

In the present instance the numbers are placed on the inner surface of the side 3 of the game board. The numeral l appears above the innermost wire while the numeral 2 is opposite the second wire from the rebound member, these numerals increasing by one until the extreme outer wire is reached. This latter wire is designated by the numeral 22, sinceit is the most diflicult one to slit.

For the purpose of dislodging a slit ball from one of the rods 4, a link It may be secured to the crank ends I I of the latter. Secured to the outer end of this link is one end of a helical spring I2 40 whose other end is attached to a pin l3 secured to the side 4 of the game board. By means of a string 14 attached to the outer end of the link, it may be drawn outwardly a sufficient distance to give the wires a quarter turn or slightly more, which will be adequate to dislodge any slit balls therefrom.

Preferably, the game is played by allotting five who throws them, one at a time, under the wires 9 to cause the balls to 5 strike the back member I with sufficient force to rebound over the wires. If, for instance, the thrown ball alights on the wire 5, with its slit portion straddling the latter, five points will be allotted to that player. If the next ball thrown by the same player comes to rest in a similar manner upon the wire 22, then 22 points will be added to that players score. Should the remaining three balls projected by the player alight upon the wires without slitting them, no further points will be added to that players score. If the playing of fifteen balls by each contestant constitutes the game, then the player receiving the highest number of points after he has thrown fifteen balls -.will win.

Our slit-ball game is one that both children and adults may play with zest and skill, making it an indoor ball game which is both thrilling and entertaining.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. In a game, a game board comprising a base, sides, and a concave back member, a series of transverse members mounted between said sides, a sufiicient distance above the base and from the back member to permit the free passage of a ball around the innermost transverse member, and balls having slits of a size to receive said transverse-members and to permit the balls to rest thereon, said slit balls adapted to be thrown under said transverse members against the back member for a rebound movement'from the latter oversaid members, the latter being spaced a sufiicient distance apart to permit the ball to descend upon any one of them with its slit portion straddling the same. v e

2: Ina game,,a game board comprising a base, sides, and a concave back member, a series of transverse members mounted between the sides of said board, the innermost member of said transverse members being a sufficient distancefrom the back member and above the base to permit a ball to pass freely from a position beneath said transverse members to a position over the latter, and a ball having a slit portion of a size to receive any one of said transverse members and to permit the ball to rest thereon, said ball adapted to be thrown under said transverse members and against the back member with suflicient force to be projected by the latter forwardly over the transverse members, said members being spaced a sufiicient distance apart to enable the ball to descend upon any one of them, with its slit portion straddling the same.

3. In a game, a game board comprising a base, sides, and a concave back member, a series of wires flattened at their central portions, rotatably mounted between said sides, the innermost wire of said series being a sufiicient distance from the back member and above the base to permit the free passage of a ball from the base around the back member to a position above the wires, a ball having a slit of a size to receive any one of said wires and to permit the ball to rest thereon, said slit ball adapted to be thrown under said wires and against the back member with sufficient force tobe projected forwardly by the latter over said wires, saidwires being spaced a sufiicient distance apart to permit said ball'to descend upon any one of them with its slit portion straddling the same, and means for rotating said wires to release a ball or balls therefrom.

I THEODORE J. BERNING.

MELVIN P. HOOVER. 

